Hurricane Carol developed
from an area of disturbed weather east of the southern Bahamas on August 25,
1954. The area of disturbed weather quickly became a tropical storm by August
27...and was officially classified as a hurricane while east of Florida late
on 27 August. Caught in a weak upper level steering environment... ship reports
indicated the storm was drifting slowly just to the north of the Bahamas between
August 27 and late on August 29th. Early on August 30th, a deepening trough
elongated along the coast from South Carolina to Canadian. The storm quickly
became caught in this strong southerly flow and turned northeast with increasing
forward speed toward the northeast Atlantic states.
By midnight on August
30th, Carol's western edge was brushing the North Carolina Outer Banks. Forecasters
issued hurricane warnings for the North Atlantic States from New Jersey to
Maine as Carol swept past Cape Hatteras. Carol's overnight accelration left
residents and vacatioers the task of making hasty preperrations for the storm
in darkness...adding to the confusion and fear of residents and vacationers.
At 8:37 am the next morning (August 31st), Air Force Hurricane Hunters located
the center of Carol less than 100-miles south of eastern Long Island. The
recon aircraft measured sustinaed winds of 115-mph and a barometeric pressure
of 28.37 inches (964-mb) about 40-miles southwest of eye of Carol. Around
9:30 am...Carol made landfall across the twin forks of Long Island, then moved
into eastern Connecticut with the "eye" reported over Groton, Connecticut
just after 10:00 am. This path put the area from southeastern Connecticut
to southeastern Massachusetts ... once again was in the damaging eastern half
of a tropical cyclone.
TRACK OF CAROL
Hurricane
Carol originated from an area of disturbed weather in the southern Bahamas.
Several hurricanes that have struck the northeast Atlantic states have developed
in this area - including Hurricane Bob (1991) and Hurricane Belle (1976).
(Track NOAA).
METEOROLOGICAL
CONDITIONS IN THE UNITED STATES
At
the time of landfall on far eastern Long Island and the eastern Connecticut
coast, the sustained winds in Carol were around 110- mph, with gusts in the
125 to 135-mph range. Like the 1938 hurricane... Carol accelerated northward
form Virginia to Long Island. The combination of 110-mph sustained winds and
a forward speed of near 40-mph... produced some of the strongest wind gusts
ever measured in the North Atlantic states. Montauk Point Lighthouse reported
gusts to 120-mph. Along the eastern Connecticut coast, from Saybrook Point
to Groton Long Point, wind gusts over 100-mph were reported. Wind gusts of
120 to 135-mph blasted across Southern Rhode Island as the state was hit squarely
by the damaging eastern half of the tropical cyclone. The T.F. Green State
Airport (near Narragansett Bay, RI) reported sustained winds of 90-mph, with
gusts to 115-mph...while Block Island, RI reported sustained winds of 100-
mph with a gust to 135-mph.
Carol
was a small but intense storm: Most of Long Island and western Connecticut
experienced little effects from the storm. The New Haven Airport (along the
central Connecticut coast) reported a peak wind gust of only 69-mph. Forty
five miles to the east however, where the eye of the tropical cyclone crossed
the coast, wind gusts of 110-mph were measured at New London - blowing off
a section of the City Hall roof. This was also evident on Long Island, winds
west of Fire Island were only 30 to 40-mph, while the Montauk Point Coast
Guard Station reported gusts to 120-mph until the wind meter blew away..
Suffolk
County Airport on Long Island reported a low pressure of 28.35 inches (960
mb). Although this is the lowest official pressure associated with Carol,
the Coast Guard Moorings in Groton, Connecticut, recorded a low pressure of
28.26 inches (957 mb). Recent research by hurricane researchers (Jarvinen-NHC
- 2003) have concluded that Carol may have had a landfalling pressure as low
as 28.20 inches (955 -mb) when it struck Long Island. Carol was one of the
few northeast tropical cyclones that had a classic eye when it made landfall:
residents in the Groton, Connecticut area, reported that around 10 a.m., the
sky cleared and the winds dropped, followed by a rapid increase 30-minutes
later to hurricane force winds again (New London Day 9/1/54).
Hurricane
Carol produced storm surge of 8 to 13-feet across the Rhode Island, eastern
Connecticut, and southeastern Massachuttes coastlines.
Although Carol's storm surge were at least 3 to 5-feet lower than the 38 hurricane,
some locations reported record tidal surges. Just as in 1938 - Carol arrived
close to the time of high tide. Observers in Montauk, Long Island reported
that the ocean completely crossed the Montauk highway, cutting off the far
eastern tip of Long Island for a time. On Shore Road, the main coastal road
along the beach in Westerly, Rhode Island, tides up to 13-feet above mean
water were estimated. The water rose to within 1-foot of the record high
water line on the Plaque at the Old Market House in Dowtown Providence commemorating
the Great 1938 Hurricane - 12.9-feet above mean water. In Connecticut,
the storm surge was severe east of the Connecticut River. A tidal measurement
of 8-feet above m.s.l was recorded at the Groton Railroad Station. From White
Sands Beach in Old Lyme eastward tides were estimated at 8 to 10 feet above
m.s.l.
The frightening
intensity of Hurricane Carol's storm surge in Rhode Island is captured in
this photograph of Westerly, Rhode Island. Buildings in the center of the
photo were floated off their foundations, while buildings in the lower portion
were swept completely away, only slabs and driveways remain (Photo Rhode Island
National Guard 9/54).
Many
buildings along the Rhode Island coast lost their roof in Carol's howling
winds. This building was located at the eastern end of Misquamicut Beach in
Westerly. (Photo Rhode Island National Guard 9/2/54).
THE
IMPACT
Southern Rhode Island bore the brunt of Hurricane Carol's fury. Carol's winds
tore roofs off hundreds of buildings, downed thousands of trees and power
lines, and littered roads and rail lines with a mountain of debris. Many buildings
in the Westerly/Charlestown area lost their roofing during the height of the
storm - forcing many to scurry to secondary shelter in severe weather conditions.
In Warwick, the roof of a large apartment complex was blown off...exposing
165 people to the elements all at once. Power was lost by 600,000 Rhode Islanders
(85% of the State).
The
storm surge was even more destructive from Watch Hill to Point Judith. Carol
crossed the coast close to the time of high tide. A storm-surge of 10 to 13-feet
swamped many barrier island and tidal communities across Rhode Island. Hundreds
of summer cottages were swept away. Green Hill and Matunuck had homes swept
a half mile inland from their foundations. From Westerly to Newport - the
combined effects of wind and water destroyed more than 5,000 buildings. The
storm tide raced up the Pawcatuck River flooding the business sections of
Westerly. Storm surge flooding was also severe along the shores of Narragansett
Bay, as Bristol and Jamestown had hundreds of structures destroyed.
The
Pier boardwalk and Bathhouse complex in Matunuck, Rhode Island is shown in
June 1953, while hundreds of people enjoy the Arcade and Beach. (Rhode Island
Office of Economic Development 1953).
The
Pier and Bathhouse Complex two days after Hurricane Carol in 1954. Rows of
bathhouse (left of center) vanished without a trace (Rhode Island National
Guard 1954).
In
Connecticut, while the western half of the state suffered almost no damage
at all from Carol - southeastern Connecticut was once again pounded mercilessly.
From Saybrook, through the Lymes, to New London and Mystic, wind gusts of
well over 100-mph and tides 8- feet above m.s.l damaged or destroyed thousands
of buildings. Many homes in southeastern Connecticut had roofing damage due
to large falling trees. In the Lymes, many beach cottages were flooded, some
completely swept away into the ocean. While in the Groton/Long Point area,
50 homes and the Casino Building were submerged at the height of the storm.
Carol pounded the City of New London - the harbor and docks were in shambles
after the storm, with hundreds of boats smashed and thrown onto coastal roads.
Shorefront restaurants and business had glass shattered and heavy flooding
- with losses in the millions. Up the Thames River in Norwich, river flooding
and tree damage was some of the worst on record. After the cyclone, along
with many sections of Rhode Island, Connecticut used martial law to strictly
enforce a dusk to dawn curfew.
Giant
waves crash against the second floor of oceanfront homes in Old Lyme, Connecticut
during Hurricane Carol in 1954. Tides along the eastern Connecticut coast
reached 8 feet above m.s.l. (Photo NOAA Photo Library).
To
this day...Hurricane Carol remains the most damaging hurricane in Massachusetts
history. Around New Bedford and Buzzards Bay, the scene was one of devastation.
Tides in Buzzards Bay reached their highest known levels since records were
kept. The massive storm surge swept away cottages and destroyed the many small
boatyards along both ends of Buzzards Bay. Along the Outer Cape, a storm -surge
of at least 13-feet above m.s.l (along with 10-foot waves) created a 20-foot
wall over water that swept away buildings, homes, cottages, and business.
Weeks after the storm, piles of wreckage could be seen for miles along Route
6 in southeastern Massachusetts.
As
Carol raced northward past Providence and Cape Cod...the Boston area was hit
worse than in 1938. Near 12:00 noon Carol swept over the Boston...bring the
city the worst hurricane conditions since 1869. Wind gusts over 100-mph sent
trees, traffic lights...even the steeple of the Old North Church... crashed
into city streets. An estimated 500,000 people in the Boston area lost power
during Carol. Although most tropical cyclones lose their intensity when they
reach this far north...Carol still produced hurricane-force gusts well into
New England; In Concord, New Hampshire, city hall recorded gusts to 70-mph...while
the Augusta, Maine State Airport measured 80-mph peak gusts as the weakening
tropical storm passed through. Carol finally died over the cool forests of
Canada on September 1st.
In
howling winds and a dark sky near 12 noon - the two-hundred- foot, 148-year
old steeple of the Old North Church crashes into the streets of Boston during
Hurricane Carol in 1954. The steeple had stood since 1806.
Hurricane
Carol killed 66 people, injured
several thousand, are left many locations in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and
southeastern Massachusetts in shambles. Although tragic...the death toll was
still far less than the death toll in the 38 cyclone. The storm also left
several hundred homeless in southern Rhode Island, and was a major economic
blow to the Rhode Island and Connecticut beach tourist industry. The local
fruit industry in eastern Connecticut and eastern Long Island suffered immense
losses - with peach and apple trees striped bare. Downtown Providence, Rhode
Island, for the second time in less than 20-years...had suffered a severe
storm surge from a tropical cyclone. The Federal Government and the State
of Rhode Island decided that something needed to be done to protect the capital
city of Providence from hurricane storm surge flooding. A few years later
the Providence Hurricane Barrier was constructed to protect the city from
tidal flooding.
Although
the total number of buildings damaged by Hurricane Carol was less than in
the 38 storm, property values had increased greatly. Carol had produced destruction
from Long Island to Canada; however, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and southeastern
Massachusetts suffered the greatest destruction. Carol was the most expensive
hurricane to ever strike the United States up to that date (1954)...with losses
up to $500 million.
BACK
©
Michael A Grammatico 8/09
